Toy motorboat

ABSTRACT

A TOY MOTORBOAT HAVING PROPELLER MEANS OPERATED BY A MANUALLY WOUND SPRING MOTOR WHEREBY GEAR RATIOS CAN BE READILY AND QUICKLY CHANGED TO VARY THE TORQUE AND SPEED OF THE ROTATION OF THE PROPELLER MEANS AND THUS VARY THE OPERATION OF THE BOAT IN WATER.

March 16, 1971 1101151111110 3,570,172

TOY MOTORBOA'I Filed Dec. 12, 1967 INVENTOR.

F/ JOSEPH LOMBARDO United States Patent Office 3,57%,172 Patented Mar. 16, 1971 3,570,172 TOY MOTORBOAT Joseph Lombardi), 1103 1st Ave., New York, N.Y. 10021 Filed Dec. 12, 1967, Ser. No. 689,872 Int. Cl. A6311 23/04 US. C]. 4693 a 2 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A toy motorboat having propeller means operated by a manually wound spring motor whereby gear ratios can be readily and quickly changed to vary the torque and speed of the rotation of the propeller means and thus vary the operation of the boat in water.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION My motorboat is provided with a hull having a prow and a stern. A spring motor adapted to be manually wound is disposed in the hull intermediate the prow and stern and has a drive shaft extending vertically upward from the hull. When the motor operates, the drive shaft is rotated about its own axis. A first gear is detachably secured to the drive shaft and rotates therewith.

Propeller means including at least one propeller extends rearward and inclinedly downwards from the stern. The means is secured to the lower end of a vertically inclined propeller shaft which is rotatable about its own axis and, when rotated, rotates the propeller.

A second gear is detachably secured to the upper end of the propeller shaft and is coupled to the first gear whereby the motor drives the propeller.

Both gears are readily accessible for removal and replacement, thereby permitting changes in torque and speed as required.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side view of my boat;

FIG. 2 is a view through 2-2 in FIG. 1; and FIG. 3 is a view through 3-3 in FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT My toy motorboat has a hull with a prow 112 and a stem 14. A spring motor 16 has a winding key 18 and an upwardly extending vertical drive shaft 20 which extends above the hull, the motor itself being disposed in the hull intermediate prow and stern.

A first gear 22 is detachably secured to drive shaft 20 by set screw 24 and is rotated in a horizontal plane when the shaft 20 is rotated about its own axis as the motor drives same.

A propeller drive shaft 26 rotatable about its own axis is vertically inclined, the lower end extending rearward and inclinedly downwards from the stern and is secured to a propeller 28. Shaft 26 is disposed in hollow sleeve 30. A flexible coupling 29 connects the stub shaft 31 of a second gear 32 which engages gear 22 to the upper end of the propeller shaft. Gear 32 is readily removable. The upper end of shaft 26 is rotatably held in yoke 34.

Yoke 34 is bolted at 36 to one end of an arm 38 lying in a vertical plane and having the shape of a C. The other end of arm 38 has a slot 40 which extends inclinedly upwards. Slot 40 is disposed adjacent another curved slot 42 in a member 44 extending in an upward curve from the motor and lying in a vertical plane parallel to that of arm 38. A bolt 46 extends through both slots. This arrangement permits the relative angle and position of coupling between gears 22 and 32 to be manually adjusted as desired and then locked to desired setting. Many variations of running time and speed are possible. Thus, one half hour or more running time as a speed-boat, to four or more hours as a freighter is readily obtained examples of the diversity of this construction.

A removable super-structure can be secured to the hull and can be made in various shapes and designs whereby the appearance of the boat can be modified as desired. This mechanism can also be applied to a toy seaplane, raft, etc. for equally realistic effect in the water. With a standard base hull various super-structures can be interchangeably mounted to change the appearance of the vessel at will-with similar adjustments in the operating speed.

While I have described my invention with particular reference to the drawings, my protection is to be limited only by the terms of the claims which follow.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a toy motorboat, in combination,

a hull having a prow and a stern;

a spring motor adapted to be manually wound and disposed in said hull intermediate the prow and stem, said motor having a drive shaft extending vertically upward from said hull;

a first gear secured to said motor shaft;

propeller means extending rearwardly and inclined downwardly from said stern;

a vertically inclined propeller shaft secured at one end to said propeller means; and

a second gear secured to the other and raised end of the propeller shaft, said second gear being coupled to said first gear whereby rotation of the motor shaft causes rotation of the propeller shaft and drives said propeller means, said first and second gears being removable and replaceable, and including gear position adjustment means coupled both to said hull and to said raised end of the propeller shaft to adjust the relative angle and position of coupling between said first and second gear ratios can be obtained, said adjustment means being manually adjustable.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1 wherein said adjustment means includes a support extending upwards from the motor and having a curved slot lying in a vertical plane and further includes a curved arm lying in a parallel plane, one end of the arm being coupled to said raised end, the other end of the arm being manually slidable to any position along the slot and being adapted to be manually locked in place thereat.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,409,549 3/1922 Ives 4693 3,163,123 12/1964 Ziroli 46-243 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,127,262 4/1962 Germany 4693 LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner R. F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner 

